1 in 10 English towns above inheritance threshold

26 September 2006

As many as one in ten English towns surveyed by Halifax had an average house price above the inheritance tax threshold (£285,000).

The south is the most likely location for these settlements to be - 46 of the 48 towns that registered an average price above £285,000 were found in this area.

These figures are demonstrative of a massive up-shift in the price of UK property – just five years ago only four per cent of towns (two and a half times less) had an average house price above the then-threshold of £242,000.

"The potential reach of inheritance tax is growing," said Tim Crawford, an economist at Halifax. "More and more homes are now valued above the threshold."

Mr Crawford reiterated Halifax's call for the government to drastically reconsider its position on inheritance tax and raise the threshold to a level comparable with the growth of property prices, which would equate to around £430,000.

"[Doing this] would…ensure that many middle income home owners avoid a tax which was never intended that they pay in the first instance," he added.